Consultation on 320-acre Strangeways regen kicks off
Local residents and stakeholders are being invited to have their say on proposals to transform a site that straddles both Manchester and Salford after the city councils unveiled their vision earlier this month.
An eight-week consultation on plans to regenerate 320 acres in Manchester’s Strangeways district and Salford’s Cambridge Industrial Estate is underway.
Interested parties have until 26 May to share their thoughts on the plans, which feature 7,000 homes in buildings up to 30 storeys and 3.1m sq ft of new or improved commercial space.
The strategic regeneration framework published in early March also sets out a plan for a 60-acre park of “regional significance”.
Copper Park, located on the Salford side of the border is designed to contend with the area’ environmental challenges.
The park will be located north of the Irwell, east of Great Clowes Street, and south of Broughton Lane in an area dominated by low grade industrial units. It is located in an area of “insurmountable flood risk”, according to the SRF, which is due to go out to consultation later this week.
Leader of Manchester City Council Bev Craig said: “This framework is our shared long-term vision, alongside our colleagues in Salford, to deliver a transformation in the Strangeways and Cambridge communities.
“We know this area has challenges, including the prison that presents a key barrier to the regeneration of the area, but we also know that there is energy and a community brimming with potential.”
She added: “We will deliver huge change in Strangeways in the coming years, working alongside the people who live and work there, and as we move to consultation in the coming weeks, we want to speak to local people and businesses about how we can make this part of the city thrive.”
The Strangeways/Cambridge SRF has been drawn up by Avison Young alongside Maccreanor Lavington, Feilden Clegg Bradley, Schulze-Grassov, Civic Engineers, Useful Projects, and Placed.
It represents a cross-border approach to regeneration and a joint strategy to address the area’s long-standing issues.
Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor, added: “This framework proposes options for the Salford part of the SRF, taking into account the requirements of residents and local businesses, and the need for quality housing in the area. The key will be to balance these needs with what the long-term flood data is telling us and how we future-proof the area against climate change.
“The proposals in the framework seek to identify the best possible options for this area. These include the exciting opportunity to create a new city park for all, with an option for appropriate levels of mixed-use development, to continue to drive sustainable growth.
“I’d urge everyone with a vested interest in this area, whether you’re a resident or business to engage with the consultation process and work with us help shape the future of this part of the city.”
Feedback on the plans can be provided online or in person at one of the consultation events listed below:
- Saturday 29 March, 10am – 3pm
Salford – Broughton Community Centre, Great Clowes Street, Salford, M7 1ZQ
- Tuesday 1 April, 3 – 7pm
Salford – Broughton Community Centre, Great Clowes Street, Salford, M7 1ZQ
- Monday 7 April, 3 – 7pm
Manchester – The Yard, 11 Bent Street, Manchester, M8 8NF
- Thursday 24 April, 3 – 7pm
Salford – Broughton Community Centre, Great Clowes Street, Salford, M7 1ZQ
- Tuesday 29 April, 3 – 7pm
Salford – Broughton Community Centre, Great Clowes Street, Salford, M7 1ZQ
- Thursday 1 May, 3 – 7pm
Manchester – The Yard, 11 Bent Street, Manchester, M8 8NF
- Tuesday 6 May, 3 – 7pm
Manchester – The Yard, 11 Bent Street, Manchester, M8 8NF
Until the government expresses a genuine interest in closing HMP Manchester aka Strangeways, this consultation appears premature or even futile.
By mcleod
The initial CGIs look bland and offer absolutely nothing new. There is a chance to do something really radical here, but it looks like a missed opportunity. Recreating the lost Victorian/Georgian architecture of Manchester and Salford would really elevate this area and create a statement – this modernist pastiche does not.
By Heritage Action
With awareness that this relates to the border site and not just the prison footprint I still think this strategy is completley bass-akwards. I understand that the council naturally advocate for what they believe to be the best use for land however without a viable strategy this is a waste of time and effort.
Given that the party to convince is the MoJ, the most realistic prospect of success would come from advocating for construction of a new bigger and better prison in Manchester – not on demolishing HMP Strangeways with no alternative. Pitching on an economic growth and nice communities platform is never going to hold water with them because it’s simply not something they care about especially given the current situation with cell space.
Further, Victorian jails are not in city centres by accident – they are there because of physical proximity to courts. Often theres a tunnel linking the two so people can be sentenced quickly (once upon a time this was the assize for Strangeways). The modern method of conducting prisoner transfers from cell to courts and back via public roads for sentencing is time, money and risk intensive. Sticking a prison in the countryside because you think it’s inconvenient in the city is selfish in that is in your best interest but not in the prisons. The right thing to do is to build your prison next to your court. Therefore…. If they really, really wanted to take this idea forward they should bundle in relocating Minshull Street and Crown Square to the same campus with any new prison. A one stop judicial shop. MoJ would love it. Could even put it on some of that wasteland out by GMP HQ. Huge money spinning tower up on the old Crown Square site to pay for a chunk of it. Then when the MoJ actually have a plan to move – start writing your christmas list for what to do with Strangeways. Until then it’s just an exercise in abstraction.
By H
There are currently not enough prison places, the key part of this site will remain for many years, so whilst it’s admirable that we think about the future it looks like a waste of time and talking. Should we not concentrate on the here and now and focus officers on getting through things that can be built now and dealing with applications in a timely manner
By A Pierrepont
I agree with Heritage Action. Those flats look like they belong in postwar Murmansk.
By Elephant